It’s harvest for our Wickedfood Earth Egyptian Pink Garlic. The remaining garlic varieties ( below) will be harvested in early to mid-November, ready for distribution in mid to end November. This stock of garlic will have a shelf life to, at least the end April 2019, but we hope to sell out well before.

Organically produced

We know we have a great quality organically produced product. With the growing of our garlic, as with all our produce, we apply a holistic approach to farming, following the principles of organics, and permaculture. We make all our own compost and do not use pesticides, fertilizers or genetically modified seed stock.

During the growing cycle we have had a lot of challenges to overcome, the greatest of which is that our main borehole dried up completely early in winter 2018. Fortunately we have a backup borehole with a windmill, so this year we can also claim that our garlic has zero carbon footprint while growing. It is a great concern that with the ongoing drought and shift in rainfall patterns, attributed to climate change, water is becoming a major issue in food production, the effects of which are certainly starting to come to the fore. In our valley alone, all the boreholes are yielding significantly less than 3 years ago, with more than 50% having dried up or becoming unreliable.

 

Each year we sell a limited stock of green garlic from mid to the end of September.

In an effort to expand our range of garlic, this year we grew 13 different varieties of garlic, 3 of which we have significant numbers of. For a further 4 we have very limited stock. The remainder will be carefully assessed for possible future commercial cultivation.

 

The varieties available from Wickedfood Earth Farm are:

  • Wickedfood Earth Egyptian Pink  – a medium clove garlic, the most pungent variety that we grow. This is our flagship garlic that we have been growing for the past 10 years. Over the period we have selected the very best seed to propagate from which has resulted in a high quality garlic. It has a wonderful flavour and texture. If you like a stronger flavoured garlic then this is the one for you.

  • Wickedfood Earth White  – specially bred over the last 7 years at Wickedfood Earth Farm from a classic French garlic, with a large squat clove. It is easy to peel, with great mild flavour and pleasing floral aroma.

Giant or Elephant Garlic – photo courtesy of Livingseeds.

  • Giant or Elephant Garlic – Giant Elephant garlic is not actually a garlic, it is a member of the leek family that looks, tastes and behaves like a garlic. A mild flavoured garlic much favoured as it’s easy to peel and produces impressively large cloves.Perfect for eating raw in salads.

Limited release:

Tuscan Garlic – photo courtesy of Livingseeds.

  • Tuscan Garlic – A short squat cloves, easy to peel and have a wonderful aroma and flavour. Originating in Italy, this is a traditional Italian cooking garlic, great for replicating authentic Italian cuisine.

Gaya’s Joy Garlic – photo courtesy of Livingseeds.

  • Gaya’s Joy Garlic – A stunning marbled purple stripe garlic variety, originated from Poland. It has has an above-average sized clove and a wonderful broad taste that is not as pungently sulfurous in taste as some of the more pungent purple or pink varieties, when cooked.

Chesnock Red Garlic – photo courtesy of Livingseeds.

  • Chesnok Red – Originally from Southern Georgia (Europe) this is a garlic with a medium pungency. This gives it a wonderful broad appeal and does not contribute much pungent heat to a dish once cooked. It does however stand out with a great garlic flavour. Chesnok Red has been a top contender in terms of awards worldwide.

Eastern Porcelain Garlic – photo courtesy of Livingseeds.

  • Eastern Porcelain Garlic – Large and typically all white, hence the name Porcelain. It leans toward the hot and slightly aggressive in flavour. Cloves are on the large side with a few per bulb, a good choice for those who like copious amounts of garlic with little peeling. Porcelains have among the highest yields of allicin, the sulfur compound most associated with garlic’s therapeutic properties.

Where to find our garlic

All our garlic  is available off the farm – see our On-line Shop.

We also supply to Jackson’s Real Food Market in both Bryanston and Kyalami, as well as one of South Africa’s leading organic and heirloom seed suppliers with seed stock.

 

 

 

 

 

Recipes

At Wickedfood Earth Country Cooking School we only use our organically grown garlic, both in our cooking classes as well as in the various preserves, relishes, chutnies and sauces we produce. The Cooking School team finds that it has a far superior flavour to most of the conventional garlic available on supermarket shelves.  

Butterflied leg of lamb

By butterflying meat, it helps it to cook quicker and more evenly as well as giving a greater surface area for the marinade to have an effect on. This Spanish-inspired dish, with a garlicky Salsa verde is a favourate at Wickedfood Earth Country Cooking School.  It works equally well with shoulder, chops or fillet. A boned leg of lamb can also be cubed, marinated and grilled on skewers. It can either be cooked in the oven, on an open braai, or in a kettlebraai. Serve with boiled potatoes, or a potato salad and roasted butternut, cole slaw or green salad. Also great in rolls or pita breads. More…

Green Garlic What It Is And How To Cook It

Around this time of early summer, green garlic comes into season at Wickedfood Earth. Green garlic or spring garlic is the young version of the garlic, before it divides itself into separate cloves. More….

Garlic Bread – click here

 

Other Recipes – click here